“The court demanded that our attorney, Ms. Wang Yu, be subject to a security check on April 15 before she entered the courtroom to defend my son. She refused to do so because this was not required by law. Then Judge Liang barred her from entering,” Ms. Zhang said in the letter.

“I had been worrying about my son so much that I couldn’t sleep the night before the trial. I was extremely exhausted. When I was told that the attorney, my daughter-in-law and other family members weren’t allowed to attend the trial, I was very upset. While arguing with the court staff, I fainted and was taken to the hospital.

“Before the attorney was able to visit him on May 27, no one knew what happened during that closed-door trial. During the visit, he told the attorney that he was unconscious the entire time that the trial was going on. In the trial minutes, however, someone recorded that he was standing in the dock as defendant.”

Illegal Arrest

Mr. She and other practitioners were arrested on July 6, 2012, for installing satellite dishes for people to receive uncensored TV programming. His health and physical condition have declined precariously since the arrest. A court trial was adjourned on December 27, 2013 because of his health problems.

A few days after the trial on April 15, 2014, Mr. She was taken from Dalian Detention Center to the hospital for emergency treatment.